Monday 17 August 2009

Sunday Safari

Some photos were taken on Saturday but rather than posting twice over the weekend, saved them for now.

There isn’t a great deal going on at the moment, I’m waiting for all the Cosmos to open, I just hope they manage it before everything else dies!

The Tomatoes seem to be taking an age to ripen, but I’m sure we’ll get there soon.

The garden is very dry at the moment, I’m going to have to give it a good watering because it’s simply not getting enough. The bird bath has completely dried out and the soil is cracking, it’s seriously that dry!
We had some rain this morning for around 20 minutes, but you’d never know it. This is the problem, if it’s rained it’s been hot and muggy so the water evaporates, if it’s a quick shower then the hot sun has soon evaporated the rain again.
Tomatoes are being watered a couple of times a day, and often I come home to them looking rather unhappy – which could lead to blossom-end rot…

This Fuji Cherry has already turned red, but look how dry its leaves are… They’re curling up!


Nigella has gone to seed.




Crocosmia is coming to its end…





Bee enjoying the Liatris

Coneflower




Gaura and Poppies


Caterpillar




David Austen climbing rose is flowering nicely, I just need it to grow a little more to cover the back section of the fence… And to help stop cats jumping on to the summer house.





The border is still going, just need the rest of the Cosmos to open now…





Bee on Verbena Hastata




Hoverfly enjoying the Scabious pollen



The foxgloves are going to seed… I expect to have an explosion of them next year…


Still waiting for the sedum… Maybe, someday it’ll flower…

Agapanthus has opened and it’s providing some much needed colour up at the top, I had also dead headed the Astrantia and it’s come back with a second flush.

The shield bugs are maturing



7 comments:

Emma said...

Hi Liz, as ever beautiful photos, just opened the bee on liatris shot and it's stunning! I love the mood and the colours in your photos.. how do you do it?! Emma :)

Val said...

I really envy you your lack of rain! Lovely pictures, especially the one with the caterpillar! Val

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz.....don't you just hate this dry weather...we really do need rain.....

I love your safari photographs.....the last one of the shield bug is great....I love the composition.

Your cosmos are very late....mine are still blooming. It has been a strange year in the garden...

Still waiting for conservatory furniture......is anything every on time these days??

Liz said...

Emma - Thanks! I'm glad you liked the photos :)

Sometimes the camera produces slightly interesting results when the lighting isn't great and in this case I was in the shadow of some rather tall cosmos... Most of the time though Photoshop plays a large role in the images...

Liz said...

Val - I'd prefer if we actually had rain to be honest. But at the same time I cannot complain after the past couple of years involving floods and general poor weather!

A nice medium would be preferable, however I shall take full advantage of the nice weather. We're set for high temperatures tomorrow - 28C, which will mean it'll be well over 30 on our decking so the Tomatoes will need plenty of water.

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl, I loved the Sheild bug photo too :) the little black blob in the background is another, younger shield bug... I get the impression they like the Crocosmia!

My Cosmos is extremely late, I do wonder whether it's due to the lack of rain. They all gre nice and tall, but just sat there for weeks doing very little and eventually the flower buds began to appear! I don't understand it, I had sown them early on around March so they should've been flowering weeks/months ago.

ShySongbird said...

Another great Safari Liz with lovely photos. I get the impression you have had a lot less rain than we have. My Cosmos has behaved strangely too though, some are almost as tall as me but are so reluctant to flower, I'm sure other years they have flowered much earlier.